Well, the zombie craze ain’t over yet, folks. On the heels of the excellent looking Zombieland and I Sell The Dead, there’s news that Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, and the good-but-flawed The Mist) is in “final talks” to direct a television adaptation of The Walking Dead for AMC.

For those unaware, The Walking Dead is a fantastic series of comics by Image about the remnants of humanity dealing with a zombie apocalypse. There’s no super powers, no super weapons, no Resident Evil bullshit. It’s a series about survival. Much akin to Max Brooks’s World War Z, but the themes are less international (and, though I love WWZ, it’s better written). It focuses primarily on a small-town police officer and his family and friends, simply scratching and clawing their way to stay alive, forming alliances, finding safety, trying to maintain hope and not turn on each other from the stresses they face daily. I borrowed the first dozen+ issues from a friend of mine, and they are truly impressive.

It’s a great vehicle for a film, actually. A serious, contemplative take on the zombie concept. If done right, it shouldn’t really even be a horror movie, though it should have horror elements to it, obviously. I’ve got decent faith in Darabont — his films, primarily Stephen King adaptations, are usually damn good, though I’m still pissed about the ending of The Mist. Regardless, as long as they avoid messing around too much with the story and characters (no special forces tough guys, no muscle-bound heros) and don’t fuck up the casting (Godtopus, keep Will Smith away from it), there’s some serious potential. I’m hoping it turns into a miniseries and not just a one-shot film, but we’ll see. My bottomless hunger for zombie stuff is not yet sated.